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Has hacking had its day?
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Has hacking had its day?
SurvivorSue
Fightguey (6)
Fightguey (6)
Posted 11 years ago.
Hi everyone, I have been informed from a TC player that it was possible to get access to certain major illicit ports by getting a 'hack' from a nearby pirate base. I have searched since the beginning of my game,(my empire is now sizable and wealthy), although I have searched missions tirelessly at pirate bases, have not found a single hack offer? My question is, are hacks a feature of TC and no longer exists in AP? If this is the case, has anyone got any bright ideas on how I might gain access to the Anarchy Port in LooManckStrats Legacy?
Sinxar
Cruguey (18)
Cruguey (18)
Posted 11 years ago.
They are still in the game for sure, but as you know can be almost impossible to find. Try checking other stations next door too, hacking missions aren't limited to pirate bases but show up there more often.
Be warned that if your pirate rep is too low, the station will go red again after being hacked. I was told this was due to how the RRF system works.
Be warned that if your pirate rep is too low, the station will go red again after being hacked. I was told this was due to how the RRF system works.
SurvivorSue
Fightguey (6)
Fightguey (6)
Posted 11 years ago.
Thanks Sinxar, I shall keep looking then as the search is not entirely futile.
The stations in Loos Legacy are not red to me but do not allow docking and I only kill pirates attacking my property, never taking fight or kill missions. Despite this more than reasonable attitude, my rep. with pirates seems to be dwindling and I may have to write the pirates off eventually, as NOT worth the effort!
The stations in Loos Legacy are not red to me but do not allow docking and I only kill pirates attacking my property, never taking fight or kill missions. Despite this more than reasonable attitude, my rep. with pirates seems to be dwindling and I may have to write the pirates off eventually, as NOT worth the effort!
Kirlack
Specoguey (14)
Specoguey (14)
Posted 11 years ago.
There is another option to help get the majority of the clans on side Sue, as long as you're not above some illicit trading of your own 
Build a weed/booze plex in a nice isolated sector. I'm not sure what it's called in AP, but in TC it was the Unknown Sector west and south of Maelstrom (EDIT, according to Roguey's map it's called Lost Order). There's a 45 Yield Silcon roid there, more than enough to support a closed loop 2x weed L, 2x booze L complex. With pirate bases in at least 2 nearby sectors, and the Pirate Stock Exchange in Gaian Star you should soon start getting customers. Before long the pirates will be too stoned to care what you do
Worth 70 million credits? 
Build a weed/booze plex in a nice isolated sector. I'm not sure what it's called in AP, but in TC it was the Unknown Sector west and south of Maelstrom (EDIT, according to Roguey's map it's called Lost Order). There's a 45 Yield Silcon roid there, more than enough to support a closed loop 2x weed L, 2x booze L complex. With pirate bases in at least 2 nearby sectors, and the Pirate Stock Exchange in Gaian Star you should soon start getting customers. Before long the pirates will be too stoned to care what you do
Worth 70 million credits?
Madder than a Bastard on fathers day.
My DiDs: Peace(s) of Eight - Way of the Gun - Status: Online, A Xenon DiD
My DiDs: Peace(s) of Eight - Way of the Gun - Status: Online, A Xenon DiD
SurvivorSue
Fightguey (6)
Fightguey (6)
Posted 11 years ago.
Hi again Kirlack,
Well I will have to give your plan serious consideration, I have not built anything south of Maelstrom yet. I have a couple of reservations:-
a) I already have a complex in LooManckStrats Legacy with 5x fuel and 5x weed factories and it does not seem to have placated the pirates there, at all. In fact I suspect, having to defend this plex from pirate attacks has been the main cause of my struggling relationship with the pirates. I cannot help feeling that having to protect a plex next to the Gain Star stronghold might cause an all out war with the pirates!
b) Will building a weed/fuel plex in such an isolated location really help matters in the central Universe?
Well you are the 'Pirate Expert', so I have already sent my Exploration Fleet down there, to have another look!
Well I will have to give your plan serious consideration, I have not built anything south of Maelstrom yet. I have a couple of reservations:-
a) I already have a complex in LooManckStrats Legacy with 5x fuel and 5x weed factories and it does not seem to have placated the pirates there, at all. In fact I suspect, having to defend this plex from pirate attacks has been the main cause of my struggling relationship with the pirates. I cannot help feeling that having to protect a plex next to the Gain Star stronghold might cause an all out war with the pirates!
b) Will building a weed/fuel plex in such an isolated location really help matters in the central Universe?
Well you are the 'Pirate Expert', so I have already sent my Exploration Fleet down there, to have another look!
Kirlack
Specoguey (14)
Specoguey (14)
Posted 11 years ago.
Whilst having drug labs dotted around the universe will raise your overall standings with the clans, they won't actively switch hostile stations to neutral. I suspect that by building in Loomank's you've done yourself a disservice, as you will be constantly having to defend against the hostile pirate spawns. One of the reasons I suggest Lost Order is that, being such a remote location there's a lot less traffic likely to take a pop at it, even with the clan in Gaian Star.
Drug labs work in my game because the pirates come to me to buy my product. Over time this pushed my rep with them up to the stage I very rarely get hostile spawns. In my first proper pirate themed game I used Lost Order (or the Unknown Sector as it is in TC) to build my first drug lab. That was ~10 days into a new game. By ~13 days in that one simple choice had changed ~70% of the pirates across the universe from red to blue.
Worst case scenario? You build the complex, nothing changes after a week of play and you reload
For the potential gains, it's worth a try in my opinion
Drug labs work in my game because the pirates come to me to buy my product. Over time this pushed my rep with them up to the stage I very rarely get hostile spawns. In my first proper pirate themed game I used Lost Order (or the Unknown Sector as it is in TC) to build my first drug lab. That was ~10 days into a new game. By ~13 days in that one simple choice had changed ~70% of the pirates across the universe from red to blue.
Worst case scenario? You build the complex, nothing changes after a week of play and you reload
For the potential gains, it's worth a try in my opinion
Madder than a Bastard on fathers day.
My DiDs: Peace(s) of Eight - Way of the Gun - Status: Online, A Xenon DiD
My DiDs: Peace(s) of Eight - Way of the Gun - Status: Online, A Xenon DiD
SurvivorSue
Fightguey (6)
Fightguey (6)
Posted 11 years ago.
Yes Kirlack, I will almost certainly be giving your plan a go. However there will be no saving the game and going back, if things do not work out! Although not being above saving and replaying for isolated instances, I believe that on major choices of game strategy, one should take responsibility within the game for it! So should following advice lead to all out war with the clans, I shall have to play with the consequences for the rest of the game!
On the question of choosing Loos Legacy, this was only my latest, most successful illicit complex. I do have other smaller ones around. On the question of using isolated locations, my most isolated is in the sector West of Xenon 534. As you can imagine this complex does very little business and the only way I can supply the pirate base there, is to personally fly the cargo in myself? If I send a TS in auto it gets destroyed by the two LTs guarding the base, both the Base and LTs are blue to me but curiously the Base allows me access but the LTs are hostile?
On the question of choosing Loos Legacy, this was only my latest, most successful illicit complex. I do have other smaller ones around. On the question of using isolated locations, my most isolated is in the sector West of Xenon 534. As you can imagine this complex does very little business and the only way I can supply the pirate base there, is to personally fly the cargo in myself? If I send a TS in auto it gets destroyed by the two LTs guarding the base, both the Base and LTs are blue to me but curiously the Base allows me access but the LTs are hostile?
Roguey
Trueguey (22)
Trueguey (22)
Posted 11 years ago.
You may find ships marked as hostile and not depending on your/and each ship race relation. You could set your ships to be friendly with the pirates however each pirate ship has a setting towards you, and your ship(s). So a ship maybe blue if you set them to friendly, however they maybe still hostile. Pirates are pain in the rear, as when respawn they can have hostile rep even if your okay with them.
If a station is friendly, then its usually down to your rank. Even pirates have a rank - that is just hidden.
If a station is friendly, then its usually down to your rank. Even pirates have a rank - that is just hidden.
Kirlack
Specoguey (14)
Specoguey (14)
Posted 11 years ago.
I like the sector west of 534, but I use it for a 'last stand' weapons production site If all else in my universe fails I still have weapon and shield production to keep my fleet ticking over, and energy cells for re-fuelling. As a result it's never been an outlet for my weed empire
Regarding the lasertowers, I may be alone in this but I long ago got into the habit of destroying them if I ever intended to trade with their station. I can't see any reason why they'd let you fly to dock personally but destroy your auto-piloted ships? That's just odd. Take a CIG equipped corvette to them, that'll soon solve that problem. Course, that leaves you needing a hacker again...hmm.
Have you considered something like a Hyperion as a Commodity Logistics trader? With the large cargo bay and high speed/shielding in it's class they can survive a lot of hot situations that a TS wouldn't, and then you can start selling your product direct to the pirates instead of waiting for them to come to you. I'm not 100% sure this will work for you, but it's worked for me, but as I said I get very few hostile pirate spawns.
If all else in my universe fails I still have weapon and shield production to keep my fleet ticking over, and energy cells for re-fuelling. As a result it's never been an outlet for my weed empire
Regarding the lasertowers, I may be alone in this but I long ago got into the habit of destroying them if I ever intended to trade with their station. I can't see any reason why they'd let you fly to dock personally but destroy your auto-piloted ships? That's just odd. Take a CIG equipped corvette to them, that'll soon solve that problem. Course, that leaves you needing a hacker again...hmm.
Have you considered something like a Hyperion as a Commodity Logistics trader? With the large cargo bay and high speed/shielding in it's class they can survive a lot of hot situations that a TS wouldn't, and then you can start selling your product direct to the pirates instead of waiting for them to come to you. I'm not 100% sure this will work for you, but it's worked for me, but as I said I get very few hostile pirate spawns.
Madder than a Bastard on fathers day.
My DiDs: Peace(s) of Eight - Way of the Gun - Status: Online, A Xenon DiD
My DiDs: Peace(s) of Eight - Way of the Gun - Status: Online, A Xenon DiD
SurvivorSue
Fightguey (6)
Fightguey (6)
Posted 11 years ago.
Sorry guys If I have mislead you! When I said that I had to fly the goods in myself, this was not indicating a difference in foe recognition but was because I am able to dock at the base keeping it between my ship and its LTs. Yes Kirlack, I did try sending my Hyperion in on Auto after losing a TS and the LTs destroyed it no problem, this despite sending it on a route I take from the back of the Base. The problem is, ships on auto take the regular docking approach, whereas I use my docking computer, so am never exposed. Also when the LTs destroyed the TS it released 25 Mk2 drones that attacked the LTs but the 2x LTs took them out without hardly a dip in their shields? I have used Mk2 drones to destroy Xenon capitals I was totally shocked at how easily the 2 LTs dealt with this assault.
I do of course have an M1 in sector that I could use to take out the LTs but any attack on the LTs turns the Base red closing off access to me, which rather defeats the object of the exercise!
I do of course have an M1 in sector that I could use to take out the LTs but any attack on the LTs turns the Base red closing off access to me, which rather defeats the object of the exercise!
Kirlack
Specoguey (14)
Specoguey (14)
Posted 11 years ago.
I'd guess that the LT's insta-hit beam weapon can take out drones fairly easily Sue.
I've been thinking, which whilst normally not a good thing, might yield some results for you. If you can't find a hacker to keep the pirates on side the easy way, there might be a third option. I'm not even remotely sure it will work though, and it might compound your problem even further, but hear me out.
Build your druglabs as you would do normally. Then systematically wipe out every hostile Pirate Base (and attendant laser towers) as quickly as possible. This will force the game engine to re-locate them, and as far as I'm aware newly built PBs don't come with LTs to defend them.
What I'm hoping will happen is that in the interim, while the bases are being re-built, you'll get enough spawned Pirates buying your products that your rep will tip over to positive, meaning when the PBs have re-spawned in their new locations they will be blue.
As I say, it's just an idea, and may not work at all. But if there really aren't any hackers showing up in your universe it might be just the kind of desperate measure that will produce results
I've been thinking, which whilst normally not a good thing, might yield some results for you. If you can't find a hacker to keep the pirates on side the easy way, there might be a third option. I'm not even remotely sure it will work though, and it might compound your problem even further, but hear me out.
Build your druglabs as you would do normally. Then systematically wipe out every hostile Pirate Base (and attendant laser towers) as quickly as possible. This will force the game engine to re-locate them, and as far as I'm aware newly built PBs don't come with LTs to defend them.
What I'm hoping will happen is that in the interim, while the bases are being re-built, you'll get enough spawned Pirates buying your products that your rep will tip over to positive, meaning when the PBs have re-spawned in their new locations they will be blue.
As I say, it's just an idea, and may not work at all. But if there really aren't any hackers showing up in your universe it might be just the kind of desperate measure that will produce results
Madder than a Bastard on fathers day.
My DiDs: Peace(s) of Eight - Way of the Gun - Status: Online, A Xenon DiD
My DiDs: Peace(s) of Eight - Way of the Gun - Status: Online, A Xenon DiD
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